Trapping

Prairie Dog Pals catches prairie dogs in two ways, by trapping and by flushing.

These prairie dogs are interested in the bait.

Trapping is a labor intensive and time consuming process. Traps must be monitored at all times to insure the safety of the prairie dogs. Humane traps are employed to catch the prairie dogs. The traps are baited with carrots, apples, corn or other foods. Trapping works best in areas where there is not an abundance of natural forbs and grasses as the prairie dogs will be attracted to the bait.

The traps are set out at or near active burrows. It takes 30-60 minutes for the prairie dogs to become active after the traps have been placed.

The traps are designed in such a way as to insure that the prairie dog is well inside the trap before the trip mechanism can close the door. This prevents injuries.

Once a prairie dog has been trapped, the trapper will move slowly towards the trap in order not to panic the prairie dog. A towel will be placed over the trap to calm the prairie dog. The trap will be moved to a temporary staging area where the prairie dog is removed from the trap and placed into a holding kennel. The kennels are labeled with the family groups and/or the prairie dogs are marked with dye. At the end of the day the kennels will be moved to the staging area and the prairie dogs processed.

The prairie dogs cannot remain in the traps for more than 10-15 minutes as they may panic or can become heat stressed. The holding kennels must be kept cool. Periodic pick-up of the kennels may be required during elevated summertime temperatures.

Once the prairie dogs have been captured, we bring them to the staging facility. There they are checked for health issues then placed with their family members for feeding and observation. When they are ready, they will be released to their new, safer, locations.